Police may try & confiscate your GoPro to gather evidence against your riding buddies

[Aaron]

So for the LEOs in our midst.

From the original news article should this have been approached in the manner I am about to describe.

Since it seems the LEO had no reason to pull over the biker for an offense, he should have pulled the biker and told him that he was not being pulled for a crime however he was informing the person that his camera would be sought by police for the footage it contained. Then take all of the rider's pertinent information for records to ID him and issue the subpoena.
At this point if the rider/camera owner deleted footage or never responded to the court order then they could issue an arrest warrant for obstruction of justice (or similar).

From what I can tell in the news article the officer had no legal reason to pull the rider except to get the footage; especially since he went back to his car for a few minutes before coming back with the obscured plate charge (which i though was mainly a "fix it" ticket).

It's up to the Officer whether he wants to inform you why you're being stopped or not. I usually do, but there have been plenty of times I haven't. Usually I will when it's for a traffic offense, but will not if it's because the stop is in relation to a crime.

I probably would've followed the same procedure you outlined, however I can reasonably see how the Officer may want the camera right then and there. If this was the Dallas incident, the earlier crime was the bikers interfering with the Officers. It's reasonable to believe that this biker was with the others, and may try to destroy or hide footage so as to protect himself and his friends.

Colorado does not have "fix-it" tickets, but even if we did its still a traffic infraction the Officer can detain and cite you for. Just like a cracked windshield or a white light projecting to the rear of the vehicle.

[Spiderman]

Aaron,

Thank you very much for your responses!

[Ghost]

Colorado does not have "fix-it" tickets, but even if we did its still a traffic infraction the Officer can detain and cite you for. Just like a cracked windshield or a white light projecting to the rear of the vehicle.

Off-topic, but I really wish CO had vehicle inspections, I'm sick of being on the bike behind assholes with 0 to 1 functional brake light.

[Samko]

I can do whatever I feel like within limits. Luckily the law and my agency understand how important it is for us to bend certain rules in order to get our job done.

As for red lights, I'll tell you right now I run probably 20 a night. I can also tell you I have never once ran one just because I could. When I'm not doing anything, I drive 10 under and sit through every red light. But yes, when someone's life is at stake, or someone feels like every second counts when they're asking for my help, I run red lights. As for talking on the phone while driving, let's just say I couldn't do my job without talking on my phone and driving. And I never text.

cops never text.. thats funny.. you guys IM each other all the time. I watched it myself ummm... from the back seat hahah

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Enough with blaming shit on squids.... We are all to blame, it's us as sportbike riders that ruin for ourselves.

Please tell me you have never sped through the canyons, went around a car while crossing the double yellow line, sped on the freeway, or/and never made an illegal lane change.....

Sorry..... What was this thread all about???

HUGE difference between a guy that sped thru the canyon and wasn't an asshole to Juhn Q. Public, vs. Starboyz-type douchebaggery. Old geared-up, polite, respectful "non-squid" guy that I am, with my pants around my waist as they should be vs. somewhere down by the guys knees buns flapping in the breeze, no gear, no helmet etc., and with a bad FTP attitude, yeah, I'm gonna get let slide on shit, and walk away after a friendly encounter with the Man. Do I speed? Maybe. Have I passed on a double-yellow? Perhaps. Am I an unprovoked asshole to J.Q.P when I ride? Hell no.

That said, I do not believe they have the right just to pull you over and take the camera without actually catching you doing anything. Like they can't just randomly pull you over and scan data from the black box in your car to see if you've ever been speeding.

[bluedogok]

Off-topic, but I really wish CO had vehicle inspections, I'm sick of being on the bike behind assholes with 0 to 1 functional brake light.

We had yearly inspections in Texas and it didn't seem to help that situation at all, the only time most people would get them fixed is if they failed inspection or was pulled over for it. Most of the inspections that I went through in Oklahoma (before they got rid of it in 2001) and in Texas were very minimal at best.

[Aaron]

Aaron,

Thank you very much for your responses!

It's the only thing I'm good for! Besides Oral of course.

Off-topic, but I really wish CO had vehicle inspections, I'm sick of being on the bike behind assholes with 0 to 1 functional brake light.

I completely agree. But alas the only deference is law enforcement, but I feel like a complete asshole for stopping people with a burned out tail light solely for the burned out tail light.

cops never text.. thats funny.. you guys IM each other all the time. I watched it myself ummm... from the back seat hahah

I said I, not cops. I literally pull over and stop before replying or sending IM's or texts. I've had one close call too many to try typing and driving again. I try to pull over even to read it in fact. But let hunk about this. You crash while texting, you get a ticket. I crash while texting, my name is splashed on every newspaper within a 100 mile radius, I get suspended from work without pay, I lose seniority, I have to go through remedial driving training, my family and I get sued, and I piss my car partner off. Oh, I also get a ticket.

[Ghost]

I completely agree. But alas the only deference is law enforcement, but I feel like a complete asshole for stopping people with a burned out tail light solely for the burned out tail light.

Can you warn them even if you don't ticket them?

I find fewer and fewer people actually inspect their own vehicles, and since there are no inspections, I think no one bothers to check if their shit is actually working or not.

It might not feel good to stop them for just a brake light, but if you save someone else from rear-ending them it might be overall a better outcome...

[Aaron]

That said, I do not believe they have the right just to pull you over and take the camera without actually catching you doing anything. Like they can't just randomly pull you over and scan data from the black box in your car to see if you've ever been speeding.

You're right an Officer cannot do that, and would be out a job of he did. In this case he has Probable Cause to believe the camera contains evidence of a known crime. The detention isn't to get you in trouble, it's to get the video evidence of the crime.

Can you warn them even if you don't ticket them?

I find fewer and fewer people actually inspect their own vehicles, and since there are no inspections, I think no one bothers to check if their shit is actually working or not.

It might not feel good to stop them for just a brake light, but if you save someone else from rear-ending them it might be overall a better outcome...

I absolutely can warn them. It's funny that you mention inspecting your own car, because I had a guy take a headlight out ticket to court because he didn't know it was out. The judge told him everyday he sees hundreds of Officers go to work. But before they do, they walk around their car inspecting it. He found the guy guilty.

[rforsythe]

You're right an Officer cannot do that, and would be out a job of he did. In this case he has Probable Cause to believe the camera contains evidence of a known crime. The detention isn't to get you in trouble, it's to get the video evidence of the crime.

Out of the context of filming while riding, officers in a number of places have been confiscating cell phones and other recording devices, particularly when said device contains evidence of the cop doing something wrong. Evidence just magically disappears at that point, or the officer tries to force you to unlock your phone so they can delete it. The supreme court just ruled that they cannot take the devices or prevent someone from filming them in public without the usual "evidence of a crime" things applying -- seems like common sense but cops all over were fighting it right and left, claiming that people recording their activities was somehow an impediment to their job.

While not totally related to the topic in question, shit like that has me leery about giving a camera to any cop for any reason, especially if I know there isn't anything bad on it that I've done. Then again I don't ride around with one for the hell of it, but still it's good to know your exact rights in that situation. While most cops are proper in this aspect, some dicks have made a federal case out of it, so just be cautious in how you handle these situations.

[Aaron]

I completely understand that, and it's something we've discussed in detail. I know the law allows people to film me, and to be honest I want to be filmed. I'm proud of what I do and how I do it, and if a jury could see the people I have to deal with, and how they act towards me and disobey my commands, they'd gain a lot of respect and trust for us. I've got a dashcam in my car at work, and I use it every chance I get.

There are bad cops out there, but don't distrust the majority because of the actions of the few.

[Penadam]

Had an officer pull me over at night on the bike because my taillight was out. Glad he did, as I had no idea a wire had come loose that day and that it was out. Didn't get a ticket and thanked him for letting me know.

[bluedogok]

Had an officer pull me over at night on the bike because my taillight was out. Glad he did, as I had no idea a wire had come loose that day and that it was out. Didn't get a ticket and thanked him for letting me know.

I had a similar thing happen driving back to OKC from Kansas City, an Oklahoma county sheriff around Perry pulled me over for no taillights but my brake lights worked. I had figured out they weren't working when I stopped for gas on the way back, he was pretty nice about it. The switch failed sometime on the trip, that headlight switch was a pretty expensive piece on a RX-7, I ended up finding a schematic and soldering a jumper wire where the solder connection on the circuit board broke. Much cheaper than an $800 replacement part.